The Dartmouth Partners in Community Service (DPCS) program offers students the chance to spend an off-term working for a community service organization, school, or hospital. Members of the Class of '59 developed and currently fund the DPCS program, which began in the Summer of '96 and has since expanded to include 41 internship opportunities at service organizations throughout the United States.
DPCS internships are similar to Tucker Fellowships in that they provide students the financial means to carry out non-profit work away from the security of campus life. One difference, however, is the mentoring component of the DPCS internships. The program provides each intern with a mentor from the Class of '59 for advice and friendship.
For my off-term in the Spring of '98, I received a DPCS internship to work with the Elder Life Program at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. The Elder Life Program consists of hospital staff and a team of volunteers who work together to improve the care of hospitalized patients over the age of 70. A team of doctors, nurses, therapists, and volunteers attempt to offset the functional and cognitive deterioration that frequently prevents elderly patients from thriving after extended hospital stays. My role as an intern was to assist Cynthia Barnard, the program's Activities Therapist, in her work.
One of my tasks was to help Cynthia involve patients in exercise and music groups. It was a wonderful experience to gain patients' trust and to help them overcome uncertainty and apathy to become involved with the groups. I gained confidence in persuading patients to join by witnessing the benefits they receive from socializing among people with similar anxieties, and from breaking up the unstructured routine of hospital days.
As part of the DPCS internship experience, I met with a mentor from the class of 1959 regularly throughout the term. My mentor was Dr. William Boyle, a pediatrician at the DHMC. During our meetings, Dr. Boyle and I discussed how the internship was unfolding for me and what goals I had yet to meet. We also addressed any questions I had about the workings of the hospital or the medical community. Dr. Boyle was eager to learn more about the Elderlife Program and to introduce me to his work with CHAD, the childrenŐs hospital.
Through my work at the hospital I became familiar with the special needs of elderly patients. Although I had already volunteered with the program for three terms prior to my internship, I did not fully comprehend how important companionship is to patients' care. I have always come away from a patient visit feeling enriched for having met the person, and warm knowing that our conversation would be a pleasant association in his or her memory. But it wasn't until I worked with Elder Life full-time before I really understood why companionship is essential to health and recovery. A volunteer's company may influence a patient to eat, even when he or she doesn't have an appetite. And, patients are more inclined to exercise when they have an arm to lean on. Elder Life volunteers are trained to help patients focus on who they are as people, aside from their role as patients. This approach helps take their minds off of pain and anxiety. Simply by visiting and offering encouraging words, Elder Life volunteers help bring about these crucial ingredients to recovery.
I greatly value my experience as an intern with the Elder Life Program. I was surrounded by a caring staff who was willing to teach and involve me in its work. Also, I saw a very attractive aspect of medicine that offsets the oft heard criticisms about the field's impersonal management and monetary aims. The Elder Life Program allows different generations to come into contact, and it offers older people the forum to share their stories. I plan to continue volunteering for Elder Life and hope eventually to channel my work with the elderly into a career.
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